Almaz Ayana broke the world 10,000 metres record when winning the Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

Almaz Ayana's world record in the 10,000 metres on the opening day of the Olympic athletics programme here has been questioned by Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan, the woman affected more than anyone by the performances of the Chinese, whose performance the Ethiopian eclipsed.

Ayana ran 29min17.45sec, 14 seconds faster than the world record set by China's Wang Junxia in 1993, a mark many believed would never be broken.

"She broke the world record by...about 100m," said O'Sullivan on Irish channel RTÉ, which she working for during Rio 2016. 

"That's a world record that many people would have questioned for a long time, 23 years ago set by the Chinese. 

"I'm not jumping out of my seat because you question it as well yourself, how can you do that? 

"It is 23 years later. 

"Is it 23 years of knowing more training, being better athletes? 

"How do you have an athlete that can break the world record so easily like that? 

"She didn't look very tired afterwards."

Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana did not even look tired after breaking the world record in the 10,000m at the Olympics, Sonia O'Sullivan claimed ©Getty Images
Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana did not even look tired after breaking the world record in the 10,000m at the Olympics, Sonia O'Sullivan claimed ©Getty Images

O'Sullivan's own career took place in the shadow of the Chinese.

In 1993 she was the favourite for the gold medal in the 1500m and 3,000m at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Stuttgart. 

Her hopes in the 3,000 m were dashed by the performances of three Chinese athletes who would later in the year go on to smash the world record multiple times. 

The winner Qu Yunxia finished in a Championship record with team-mates Zhang Linli and Zhang Lirong in second and third as O'Sullivan finished third.

Wang won the 10,000m in Stuggart and later set a world record for the 3,000m. 

She then largely disappeared from international competition before re-emerging in time to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000m at Atlanta 1996, a race O'Sullivan failed to finish.

Wang retired after Atlanta but doubts have always surrounded her performance. 

Earlier this year, a letter in which Wang allegedly admitted to participating in a Chinese-state-sponsored doping regime was revealed by Chinese state media,

China's Wang Junxia set the world record for the 10,000m in 1993, a mark many believed would never be broken until Almaz Ayana came along ©Getty Images
China's Wang Junxia set the world record for the 10,000m in 1993, a mark many believed would never be broken until Almaz Ayana came along ©Getty Images

Last year another Ethiopian, Genzebe Dibaba, broke Qu's 22-year-old world record for 1500m by 0.39 seconds when she ran 3:50.07. 

Earlier this year, Dibaba's coach Jama Aden was arrested by Spanish police and charged with administering banned substances to athletes.

"Things that you thought were impossible, were out of reach and would never be broken and then all of a sudden they are broken by the length of a straight," O'Sullivan told RTE.

"You do have to question it a little bit."